Curse of a Goddess
by Black Phoenix 7777
Summary: Response to whitetigerwolf's challenge. When Percy sends Medusa's head to the Olympians, he manages to majorly piss off a certain Hunter Goddess. As a punishment, she decides to turn him into a girl. How will that affect Percy's life? Will it affect the Prophecy? Read to find out. This is a FemPercy story. Pairing will be FemPercy\Artemis\Thalia. Be warned. There will be femslash.
1. Chapter 1

**A\N:** I'm baaack! And here to stay, hopefully. This story is a response to one of whitetigerwolf's challenges, so make sure to thank him\her for getting me back in the game. I'll be updating my profile shortly with the order I plan to update my stories, so if you like one of my other stories, head over there.**  
**

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

**PROLOGUE**

**WRATH OF A GODDESS**

Percy, Annabeth and Grover left Aunty Em's Garden Gnome Emporium discussing where they should spend the night. The best choice was the Emporium itself, but none of the children wanted to sleep near Medusa's petrified victims. Especially Grover, considering one of these victims was his uncle. They decided to camp at the nearby woods and come up with a way to travel to Los Angeles after they'd somewhat recovered from their recent ordeals. Three Furies and the Medusa in one day was simply too much for the two demigods, let alone the satyr.

As the energy from the adrenaline rush left Percy, leaving him exhausted, so did his temper. Which in turn made him worry about his latest action. Namely sending Medusa's head to the Olympians in a way that was practically taunting and mocking them. And if there was one thing Percy knew from the myths-and his recent experiences-, it was that one doesn't taunt and mock a god or goddess with impunity. Let alone all twelve of them at the same time. Percy was sure this was some kind of record which, somehow, failed to make him feel better.

His only hope was that they considered his quest too important to punish him now and that they would forgive when he returned Zeus his master-bolt. Assuming he manages to pull that off.

Of course, with Percy' s luck being what it is, and in accordance with the universal law of Murphy, he was right to be worried, as he found out almost as soon as they entered the woods.

Standing in their way was a girl dressed in jeans and a silvery ski parka and holding a silver bow that resembled gazelle horns. She looked to be around the same age as Percy, maybe a year older. She had auburn hair and possessed an unearthly beauty. However, what really told Percy that she wasn't a simple human, besides the fact that she suddenly appeared in the middle of nowhere, were her eyes. Cold, silver eyes. Eyes like the full moon. The fact that he could feel the cold fury coming out of her in waves probably helped as well.

He heard Annabeth gasp and he was suddenly dragged to his knees by the daughter of Athena that was already kneeling. He heard Grover grunt in surprise as he shared his fate. Then he heard Annabeth's next words. "To what do we owe the honor of your presence, Lady Artemis?"

Percy could swear he felt his blood grow cold and his knees turn to jelly at that. He turned his eyes to the ground and kept them there. He silently prayed that his punishment would be something quick and relatively painless. He didn't have much hope though. If half the stories about her were true, Artemis wasn't exactly merciful with her punishments. She was also very proud and very easily insulted, even by Olympian standards. Yep, he was done for.

He didn't hear her footsteps, but he could feel the Hunter Goddess approaching them.

When she spoke her voice was as cold as her eyes. "So, you feel impertinent, Perseus Jackson?"

Percy was pretty sure he whimpered at that. Any retort he might have had disappeared before it could even form in his brain.

"Do you realize what the consequences of your actions could have been, _boy_? We are almost at war with one another, tempers run in an all-time high, and the son of Poseidon, who is also the main suspect, at least in father's eyes, decides that this is the right time to be _impertinent_." Artemis continued when she saw that Percy didn't speak. Which, any thinking observer would agree, was the smart thing to do.

Of course, twelve-year-olds aren't exactly known for their brains, especially if their name happens to be Percy Jackson. "I, I wasn't thinking clea..." stammered Percy, only to be interrupted by the angry goddess.

"Of course you weren't, which is what I would expect from a boy, but..." she turned to Annabeth, who seemed to wither under Artemis's glare, "... I would expect better form a girl, _especially_ from a daughter of Athena. Why didn't you stop him?"

When no answer was forthcoming, the goddess took a deep breath and seemed to calm down slightly. "I can understand the half-bloods' frustration with the gods... up to a point. No matter what grievances you have with us, you must be respectful when dealing with us, at least when not dealing only with your parent."

Artemis shook her head. "Make no mistake, Perseus Jackson, you _will_ be punished, though you should count yourself doubly lucky. Firstly, because there were only two gods in the throne room when your...package arrived, one being obviously me. This is the only reason I'm here now and you didn't receive thunderbolt on the head. Tough I'll admit the punishment I had in store was just as bad for you, albeit much more amusing for me..."

Percy reminded himself repeatedly to keep breathing as the goddess stopped for a second, thinking, Percy was certain, about the fun she would have punishing him.

"... Which brings me to the second reason why you were lucky. The second goddess with me was aunt Hestia. As she has a very big soft spot for demigods, she tried to talk me out of punishing you altogether. While that was out of the question, I did agree to let her choose a suitable punishment...which I regret now, since I honestly fail to see how what she came up with is a punishment. If anything, it's a reward. It's something I would never have thought of doing nor would I ever consider doing it, if not for the respect and affection I have for Lady Hestia. She almost always wears the form of little girl tending the fires, both when in Olympus and when in Camp Half-Blood, so you would do well to thank her, if you manage to return alive that is. Now prepare for your punishment."

It was at that moment that Annabeth gasped and was about to interfere when a glare of Artemis stopped her short. Which made Percy even more confused and worried than he already was. A punishment that was apparently lighter than the originally intended for him and that Artemis considered a reward but made Annabeth very nervous...what the hell was that? He was about to ask, but something told him that would be a bad idea. So that left him with only one choice. To suck it up and take it like a man.

He gulped loudly and lifted his eyes. "I'm ready Lady Artemis."

The goddess looked almost disappointed as she approached him. "Had you asked what you punishment is, I would have done to you what I originally planned." she commented offhandedly as she place her hands on his head.

That surprised him for a moment but the surprise faded quickly as a very weird feeling took over his entire body, almost as if his entire being had turned to water and was shifting around. In a moment of panic he remembered how Artemis had a habit of turning men to animals, but he didn't feel like falling on all fours, didn't feel like he was growing horns or fur and didn't feel like barking... which he supposed was a good thing.

What he did feel was as if there was something changing inside him, some of his organs or maybe his bones, he wasn't sure. He thought he felt his hair getting longer. As the weird feeling begun to leave his body, he felt one final change, that one between his legs. It was as if something that was there was suddenly missing. And he had a pretty good idea what that something was. As a shocked "What?" left his lips, he realized one last change. His voice sounded considerably different. It sounded more...girlish.

He looked shocked at the goddess standing in front of him. Her expression was as serious as always, but something in her eyes made him think she was laughing at him and the only thing stopping her from doing so openly was her continent-sized pride and dignity. Which he was glad for.

Artemis clicked her fingers and a body sized mirror appeared in front of Percy allowing him to take a good look at his new self, which he did...and was sent straight into shock as his suspicions became certainty.

Where there should have been the reflection of Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon, was the reflection of a much different person. That person had the same height and eyes that Percy had, but longer and smoother hair, as well as softer features. The person in the mirror could easily pass as Percy' s sibling. And she was undeniably a girl.

Percy turned to Artemis, not sure how he, or rather, she could express any of her jumbled thoughts, when she saw that the goddess was already leaving. Artemis talked over her shoulder. "Since you are now a girl, you need a new name. And since I'm the one that changed you, I'll give it to you. Your new name will be...Atalanta." With those words, the goddess disappeared into the woods.

The last feeling the newly christened Atalanta had before the goddess disappeared was a longing. A longing to be free of obligations and responsibilities. A longing to be able to run freely under the moon.

And the shock and exhaustion of the day finally caught up with her and she passed out.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **I'm sorry this was later than I planned, but I got the last book of the Artemis Fowl series and I was rereading them all. They are my favourite books after all. Anyway, I was originally planning to end this chapter right after the fight with the chimera and the first meeting with the nereid, but in that case you would have to wait at least another couple of days.

**Edit: **Note to self: NEVER again try to write half asleep. I would like to beg anyone unlucky enough to read this chapter before I fixed to forget it and read it again. There were some seriously stupid mistakes there.

**CHAPTER 1:**

**INFLUENCE OF A GODDESS  
**

Atalanta was having a nightmare. She was standing in a dark cavern with a gaping pit in front of her. Formless mist creatures, which she somehow recognized as spirits of the dead, were pulling at her clothes, trying to pull her away from the pit.

They failed. Something else, something incomparably stronger was pulling her forward. She stopped at the edge and looked down. Pitch black darkness. Bottomless and unending. She felt dizziness trying to claim her, but she fought it back and straitened herself.

Then she realized it. Darkness might have been the only thing in the pit. But it was not empty. There was something in it that was trying to come out, something old, evil and vast. And yet it somehow felt...incomplete. 'No, not incomplete. It's feels more like it's...fractured.' She corrected herself.

A voice, laced with amusement rose from the pit, and much like Artemis's earlier, it was a very cold voice. However, whereas her voice was cold due to anger, the coldness of this voice was the one that is born when the one who speaks bears complete disregard for those who listen. As if they were nothing more than ants.

"If it isn't the little demigod. Too small and too weak, but mayhap you will do." Atalanta couldn't move, the voice was entrapping her better than any chains ever could.

"The gods mislead you, little one. They use you without regret and without a single word of support. And they'll discard you just as easily when you're of no more use to them. And what happens when you try to express you righteous discontent? They curse you without hesitation an change your entire life on a whim. Barter with me, young half-blood and I'll remove that curse from you. And I'll return to you what was taken from you."

As soon as the voice finished a shimmering image appeared over the void: her mother, frozen at the instant before she'd dissolved in a shower of gold. Her face was distorted with pain, as if the Minotaur was still squeezing her neck. Her eyes looked directly at the girl, begging her to run.

She was distracted then, and tried to call out to her mother. But no voice came out of her mouth. Or, if it did, it was lost in the laughter that was echoing throughout the cavern. A cold, merciless, triumphant laughter.

Atalanta felt an invisible force gathered around her, trying to pull her in the pit. 'No.' she realized as the fear she felt sharpened her senses and mind. 'It's not trying to pull me in. It's trying to pull itself _out_.'

Her fear turned to panic at that realization and she desperately tried to fight against whatever was in the pit. The spirits around her were saying something, but she wasn't paying enough attention to them to discern their words.

The voice came again, hungrier and more hurried this time, like a person who was waiting for a meal after starving for days. "Help me rise, girl. Bring me the bolt. Strike a blow against the treacherous gods."

For some reason, these words infuriated her. She couldn't understand why that happened, nor did she care. The anger drove away the panic and gave her strength.

"NO!" she shouted, and then... she woke up with a start. Grover was standing above her, his face filled with worry. She took several deep breaths, trying to calm herself. "Grover. What happened?" she said at last. She looked around her and saw that it was night-time. "What time is it?"

"You passed out right after Lady Artemis left. We thought you needed the rest more than us, so we decided to keep watch in turns and let you sleep. Annabeth insisted to be first. Said she had to think. Hasn't even been an hour since she woke me up, so it should be around 03:00 a.m., give or take. I saw you turning around and muttering a lot, so I was just about to wake you up, but it seems you managed it on you own." He hesitated and then continued. "Want to tell me what was it that you saw ?"

Atalanta nodded and told Grover of her dream. "So, what do you think all this means?" she asked once she was done.

Grover hesitated. "I'm not sure. You should ask Annabeth about her opinion once she wakes up. She better than us at stuff like that."

Atalanta nodded in agreement. It was a proven and undeniable fact, though she would rather kiss a Fury than admit it to Annabeth's face.

Grover hesitated and then spoke again. "Percy...How do you feel about, you know..."

Atalanta chuckled mirthlessly. "It's not Percy any more, is it? It's _Atalanta_." She winced involuntarily. If she remembered the myth correctly, the original Atalanta wasn't one of Artemis's favourite mortals.

She stayed silent for several minutes and then shook her head. "It's not like I had any time to really think about it, and I don't think I should. I doubt I can do anything about it until we finish this quest, and I feel that if I worry and think about that on top of everything else I'll go crazy. I can only hope that if, no, _when_ we return Zeus his thunderbolt, he and my father will agree to talk to Lady Artemis about returning me to my original self."

Grover nodded, though he didn't seem very hopeful. At least, not any more hopeful than Atalanta herself. The two remained quiet for a time, partly because they were lost in their thoughts and partly because they were keeping an eye out to make sure they wouldn't have any more unpleasant surprises.

The girl looked around her, unconsciously shifting her position until she could see the moon through the trees. She frowned in distaste. The ground around them was riddled with garbage.

"It's sad, isn't it?" said Grover, guessing what she s thinking. "And it's not only that . Look." he added, pointing up. "The sky is polluted so much you can't even see the stars any more." He shook his head. "This is a terrible time for satyrs."

"I guess it makes sense that you would be an environmentalist."

Grover glared at her. "Humans are the only ones who wouldn't be. You're clogging the world so fast that... Ah, forget it. There's no point in lecturing human. The way things are going, I'll never find Pan."

Atalanta leaned back to think. "Pan...Isn't that a minor nature god?"

Grover looked at her with the most insulted look she had ever seen the satyr wear. "Minor!" he almost shouted. "The great god Pan, Lord of the Wild Places, minor! Granted, he isn't one of the Twelve, but still. What do you think I want the search license for?"

Atalanta was about to ask what did that have to do with Pan when a breeze carrying with it the smell of berries and wild flowers and clean rainwater, things that once existed in these woods, before the pollution of man, blew through the clearing, for a second driving the stench of all the rubbish away and a longing for places untouched by human hand filled her.

Atalanta fell silent for a second and then nodded slowly. "If that was the effect of the mere mention of his name, then perhaps he isn't as minor a god as I thought. But what does he have to do with your search?"

Grover looked at her for a second and, seeing that she was honest, answered. "The God of Wild Places disappeared two thousand years ago," he told her. "A sailor off the coast of Ephesos heard a mysterious voice crying out from the shore, "Tell them that the great god Pan has died!" When humans heard the news, they believed it. They've been pillaging Pan's kingdom ever since. But for the satyrs, Pan was our lord and master. He protected us and the wild places of the earth. We refuse to believe that he died. In every generation, the bravest satyrs pledge their lives to finding Pan. They search the earth, exploring all the wildest places, hoping to find where he is hidden, and wake him from his sleep."

Atalanta nodded in understaning. "And you want to find him. It's a noble goal. But..."

"It is!" Interrupted Grover "It's my life's dream. My dad was a searcher. So was my Uncle Ferdinand but...well, you saw what happened to him."

Atalanta winced at that. "I'm sorry for that Grover. But, as I was saying, if nobody found Pan in two thousand yeas, then it can't be easy. Or safe, for that matter."

Grover shook his head sadly. "It's not. Neither easy nor safe. But my dad knew the risks. So did Uncle Ferdinand. So do all the searchers. But I'll succeed. I'll be the first one to return alive."

Atalana was startled. "Whoa, whoa, hold up a second. Did I just hear you say the first?"

"No searcher has ever returned. Once they set out, they disappear, never to be seen again. Not alive anyway." affirmed Grover gravely.

Atalanta gulped. "Not one? Not in two thousand years?"

Grover just shook his head negatively.

"And what about your dad? Do you have any idea what happened to him?"

Grover shook his head again.

"And yet you are still determined to go." Atalanta didn't know if she should feel impressed with his courage or frustrated with his, well, stupidity. She settled for both. "And you still believe you can find him?"

"I have to believe it, Percy, sorry Atalanta." He grimaced. "This is going to need some time to get used to. Anyway, all searchers believe. It's the only thing that keeps us from despair when we see what humans have done to the world. We must believe that Pan can be awakened."

Atalanta wondered if she should tell him how hopeless his goal sounded. Then again, who was she to speak? "Hey, Grover." she said without looking at him, "How are we going to get in the Underworld? And even if we manage that, what chance do we have against a god? Especially one of the Big Three." She had been thinking that for a time, but the meeting with Artemis really drove the point home.

"I don't know." admitted the satyr. "But back at Medusa's, when you were searching her office? Annabeth was telling me that there's something wrong with this quest. Something isn't what it seems."

"You mean besides me being blamed for stealing the master-bolt when it was Hades who took it?"

Grover nodded. "Yeah. The Kindly Ones were holding back. Mrs. Dodds was at Yancy Academy for almost a year before she tried to kill you. Why wait so long? And on the bus...I've seen the Kindly Ones before and trust me when I say they weren't as aggressive as they could've been. And more importantly. Try and remember. They were shouting "Where is it? Where?"

Atalanta sat straighter. "Wait a second. 'It'? Not 'he'? You mean they were looking for an object instead of me? That doesn't make any sense. Hades already has the master-bolt. What else could he seek that he suspects us to have?"

Grover shrugged. "I really don't know. But if we've misunderstood something about this quest, and we only have nine days to find the master-bolt..." He looked at her like he was hoping for answers.

Atalanta sat up and started walking back and fourth. "I don't like this. Unless the Fur-sorry, the Kindly Ones, really were looking for me but can't tell a human and an object apart, there's something really wrong with this picture." She frowned and shook her head. "But what can we do? Hades is the only clue we have. The best we can do is go to the Underworld as fast as possible. Even if things are entirely different than what we expect them to be and Hades doesn't have the master-bolt, at least we will get some answers." She sighed. "I'm afraid this quest just became even more of a race against time than it already was."

Grover lifted an eyebrow. "I'm impressed Perc-sorry, Atalanta. Since when do you agree with Annabeth on anything?"

The daughter of Poseidon muttered something not meant for polite company, and then hesitated. Grover had told her about his dream and, more importantly, he was her first and oldest friend. She owed him the truth. "I...haven't been very honest with you Grover. I don't really care about the master-bolt or the gods. The only reason I agreed to go the Underworld was so that I could free my mother."

Grover took out his pipes and played a soft melody that the girl didn't recognize. "I know that, Atalanta. But are you sure it's the only reason?"

"I'm not doing it to help my father. He doesn't care about me. I don't care about him." she insisted stubbornly.

"Of course you don't." said Grover disbelievingly. "But you know Atalanta, I may not be as smart as Annabeth. I may not be as brave as you. But I'm pretty good at reading emotions. You're glad your dad is alive. You feel good that he's claimed you, and part of you wants to make him proud. That's why you mailed Medusa's head to Olympus. You wanted him to notice what you'd done."

"Well, we all saw how well _that _worked out." she replied sarcastically. Then she fell silent, looking at her feet for several minutes. "Perhaps...perhaps you are right." she said at last. "I'm not sure what to think or how to feel. I think I remember him coming to see me once, when I was still little, but I'm not sure. But even if it's true... How difficult would it be for him to visit or at least call every now and then. To show that he exists, that he _cares_." she felt she was on the verge on tears and that was weird. She rarely was that emotional before. Maybe it was a girl thing.

Grover approached her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Look, Atalanta. I understand how you feel, believe me I do. And you are right to feel the way you do. But the gods have more responsibilities and are bound by more rules than most people know. I doubt it's easy for them either. I'm sure your father cares about you. Just wait until we finish this quest and then you can talk to him and see for yourself."

Atalanta smiled in thanks and then punched him lightly on the shoulder. "Thanks for the talk, G-Man. I appreciate it."

"Don't mention it."

She looked up the sky was starting to brighten. They would have to wake Annabeth up soon. She looked at the sleeping girl. "I wonder how many plans she'll bombard us with once she wakes up." she said half jokingly.

"Don't be so hard on her, Percy. She's had a tough life, but she's a good person. After all, she forgave me..." His voice faltered.

Atalanta raised her hands in mock surrender. "Whoa, I was just joking Grover. But what did you do to her that needed forgiveness?"

All of a sudden Grover looked very interested in his hooves.

Atalanta narrowed her eyes. "Wait a minute. You said to me that your first keeper job was five years ago. Annabeth told me that she's been in the camp for five years. Don't tell me that..."

"I can't talk about it." said Grover, and his face was so full of sadness and guilt that Atalanta backed off.

She desperately looked around, trying to think of something to change the subject. And then she found it. And she blinked. "Grover, pinch me."

"What? Why?" he asked perplexed.

"Because I must be hallucinating. I'm seeing a pink poodle."

Meanwhile, on Olympus:

While Atalanta was having her bad dream, Artemis was at the throne room, waiting for the rest of the council to gather. Herself, Hestia, Athena, Zeus, Poseidon, Demeter, Hera, Hephaestus, Apollo and Hermes were there. Ares, Aphrodite and Dionysus hadn't arrived yet. Hades had declined to come, which was a good thing. It was doubtful if a fight wouldn't break out with only Zeus and Poseidon there.

The last three arrived and the council began. Well, perhaps council wasn't the best word. As usual it would begin with Zeus demanding if there was any progress with finding his master-bolt, the answer would be negative, two to three minutes later Zeus would accuse Poseidon or, the few times he was there, Hades, and then the shouting would begin, which generally lasted until Hestia had enough and made them stop.

She may not be the strongest of the gods, but there was not one amongst them that would willingly go against her. She was the most respected and well-liked of the immortals, the undisputed heart and conscience of the Olympian family. Plus, she could guilt trip better than anyone. Not even Ares liked to be on the receiving end of her disappointed look.

This council however, was different. Hestia spoke first. "Before this council degenerates to the usual chaos..." she looked pointedly at Zeus and Poseidon, who looked down shamefully. Not that that would stop them from arguing as soon as she finished. "I think there's something else that needs to be said." she looked at Artemis, who sighed in annoyance.

She took out the package Percy had sent and threw it at Poseidon.

He read the delivery slip aloud "The Gods, Mount Olympus, 600th Floor, Empire State Building, New York, NY, With best wishes, PERCY JACKSON... What's in it?" asked Poseidon who all of a sudden had a very bad feeling.

"Medusa's head." said Artemis, sounding bored.

The reactions varied. Artemis and Athena remained silent. Demeter, Hephaestus and Aphrodite were indifferent. Apollo and Hermes were laughing their asses off. Poseidon was trying to decide if he should be amused, proud, worried, or angry, settling for an odd combination of all four that would give a satyr migraines for life. Hera, Ares, Dionysus and Zeus were shouting for punishment. And Hestia was telling everyone to please shut up so that Artemis can continue. Well, maybe she didn't use these exact words, but the general idea was the same.

When silence finally returned to the room, Artemis went on. "This package was sent earlier today. I was here discussing with Aunt Hestia and Athena when it arrived. I believe that the exact words of Poseidon's son as he sent it were that he was feeling impertinent. After that-will you please shut up and let me finish! I want to returns to my hunters today! And anyway, you can't punish him..." she addressed these words to the four gods that were itching to deal out punishment.

Everyone froze. They looked around scared, certain that the end of the world was coming. Artemis had just said that they couldn't punish someone. Worse yet, that they couldn't punish a _boy_.

"...because I've already punished him." Everybody left out a sigh of relief. The world wasn't ending after all. Then the meaning of her words registered with Poseidon's mind and he was sent straight to panic territory. Artemis might as well be the Goddess of Cruel and Unusual Punishments.

"W-what did you to to him?" he asked. He could feel the anger rising, but for now his worry for his child eclipsed everything.

"Unfortunately, not what I had originally planned." she replied drily.

Poseidon felt a small amount of relief and hope. "So what did you do to him?"

"I turned him into a girl." Artemis took the opportunity offered by the stunned silence that followed her words and continued before someone else could interrupt her. "As I said, I was here talking with Aunt Hestia and Athena when the package arrived. Athena though that we should reserve judgement until we see how he'll perform in his quest. Hestia believed that he was right to feel angry and thus shouldn't be punished, and I believed that he should be punished...severely. Eventually, Hestia persuaded me not to kill him, or do any of the other...amusing ideas I had."

The other gods and goddesses shivered at that. No rational being would ever want to be on the receiving end of anything that Artemis found amusing. Then they refocused as Artemis continued.

"Hestia actually tried very hard to dissuade me from punishing him at all, but since it was my right to do so, I instead asked what punishment she thought would be fitting. She then came up with the idea of me turning him into a girl. It sounded like it could turn out to be pretty interesting, so I agreed. And that's all." concluded Artemis.

Everyone turned to Hestia, wondering why she would do such a thing. The goddess lifted her gaze from the fire she was tending and answered. "Because I felt it would help our family." she stated simply.

That was something nobody could question. As the Goddess of Home, Hearth and Family, Hestia could always tell if an action would be beneficial to one's family, even if she couldn't always tell why. And though she rarely acted as directly as she did this time, usually content with the role of the peacemaker, the gods had learned long ago not to question her actions, for they always turned out for the better, if only in small, almost unnoticeable, ways.

Content with that knowledge, the gods turned their attention to matters they considered more important. Well, most of them. If you asked Poseidon which he considered most important, his son-turned-daughter or Zeus's master-bolt, he would immediately reply that his child was worth a hundred master-bolts. Poseidon was emotional like that. He was the God of the Sea after all.

Back with our heroes:

Annabeth woke up as Atalanta started to gently shake her. She yawned. "Good morning Atalanta." she said, awakening far faster than one would expect.

The other girl turned her head and spoke over her shoulder. "Good thing this would need time to get used to, eh Grover?"

Annabeth heard the satyr grumble something, though the only words she caught were 'Athena' and 'adapt', and then Atalanta spoke to her again. "Come on, we need your input with something."

Annabeth lifted an eyebrow and followed her where Grover was sitting, speaking with a-was that a pink poodle?

It really was a pink poodle named Gladiola and, believe it or not, it was male. Apparently he had ran away from his owners, who posted a $200 reward for his return. And apparently he knew that because he could read signs and also apparently he liked Grover enough to agree to return to the family that painted him pink and named him Gladiola just so that they could get the reward money and travel west. Riiiight.

If Atalanta ever believed in coincidences, she stopped doing so back when she was expelled from the third school in three consecutive years, back when she was still Percy. She tried to think which god could be helping them, but no matter how hard she tried she couldn't come up with a god associated with pink poodles. She glanced at Annabeth and the daughter of Athena nodded, thinking the same thing. Still, who were they to look a gift poodle in the mouth?

"Well, I don't think we have any better options, so let's do it. But just to make it clear-we are not going by bus." stated Atalanta.

"No." agreed Annabeth, with Grover nodding his head vigorously. "Not by bus."


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 2:**

**Deadly Fight**

They returned Gladiola and with the reward money they purchased train tickets. They only had enough money to go as far as Denver and it would be a two-day ride, but it was better than nothing.

As soon as they got settled, Atalanta told Annabeth about her nightmare. Judging from how pale her face became, it was safe to assume she didn't think of it as a simple nightmare either.

"That doesn't sound like Hades. For one thing the Lord of the Dead almost always appears sitting on his throne. And more importantly, Hades doesn't laugh. He might smirk or cackle, but he does not laugh. But he offered you mother in trade..." She shook her head. "No, it must be Hades. It must."

Atalanta lifted an eyebrow. This really didn't sound like Annabeth. Annabeth's arguments were always well thought and supported by logic. Not to mention she usually was considerably more self-assured. Right now she sounded like she was desperately trying to persuade herself.

"Annabeth...what is it that you really think? If it was Hades, why would he ask for the master-bolt if he already has it? Who do you really think was the one in my dream?" asked Atalanta.

"It was Hades. It can't be anyone else." the daughter of Athena said stubbornly.

Atalanta was about to pressure her more, but she hesitated. Annabeth's eyes were practically begging her not to persist and she relented. Whatever it was that she really thought, the possibility of it being true had scared Annabeth silly. And that was no easy feat.

Both of them fell silent, lost in their thoughts. Grover had fallen asleep almost as soon as they entered the train. He had been keeping watch for half the night after all.

The silence was broken by Annabeth. "Atalanta...you can't barter with Hades. You know that, right? Even if you make a deal for your mom, he will surely deceive you."

Atalanta gave the other girl a dark look, but she couldn't deny that she had thought about it. So she took a different route. "Easy for you to say. What would you do if it was your dad?"

The reply was immediate and nothing like Atalanta would ever expect. "I would leave him to rot."

Atalanta was stunned. Not only by Annabeth's words but by her tone as well. She had never heard Annabeth say something with so much venom. She looked at her, her mouth hanging open in surprise.

"Atalanta, my father never wanted me. I appeared on his doorstep, in a golden cradle, carried down from Olympus by Zephyr the West Wind. You would expect most people to be really amazed by that, wouldn't you. Maybe take a photo or something to remember that once in a lifetime occasion. What did my father do? He asked Athena to take me back. Wish she had too. She couldn't though. Not only are gods incredibly busy, well, most of them anyway, half-bloods are supposed to be raised by their mortal parents. She told him that. He didn't like it."

Atalanta wasn't sure how to respond to that. She didn't get the chance to either. It seemed that Annabeth rarely, if ever, talked about her family and wanted to get it out of her chest.

"He married not long after that. A very normal woman with two very normal kids. She didn't like me much either. Wouldn't let me play with her kids, talk to me as little as possible, look at me even less, the works. Things would get worse whenever something dangerous, something to do with monsters happened. There were times I was treated as if I had some deadly contagious disease. I got the hint eventually and ran away."

"Ran away? I thought you had joined the Camp at a young age. How old were you when you ran away?" asked Atalanta.

"Same age as I joined the camp, seven."

The other girl lifted an eyebrow. "Are you seriously trying to tell me that you managed to find and reach Camp Half-Blood on you own when you were _seven_?"

Annabeth shook her head. "Don't be an idiot. Oh, wait, I forgot who I was talking to. Don't be a _complete_ idiot, Seaweed Brain. Of course I didn't manage that on my own. Athena helped me and guided me. I made a couple of friends on the way as well."

Atalanta wanted to ask about that, but Annabeth looked so sad that she changed her mind.

The children spent most of their time in the train resting, wanting to regain their strength for the trials they were certain they would face.

It was near the end of their second day in the train, eight days before the summer solstice, when they passed over the Mississippi river and reached St. Luis. Annabeth's attention was immediately captured by the Gateway Arch.

Atalanta, on the other hand, wasn't impressed. Even when she was young, she was rarely touched by human constructs like the Parthenon or the Liberty Statue. She always preferred natural places. Mountains as seen from afar, forests and valleys when seen from great height and of course, the view underwater. That one was always her favourite. She was planning to learn how to dive when she got older, but she probably didn't need it now.

Most human monuments looked rather silly to her. This one for example looked like a huge shopping bag handle stuck on the city.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a sigh from Annabeth. "I want to do that."

"What? The Arch?" Atalanta asked.

"Yes. I want to build something like that. You ever see the Parthenon, Atalanta?"

"Only in pictures."

"Someday, I'm going to see it in person. I'm going to build the greatest monument to the gods, ever. Something that'll last a thousand years."

Atalanta couldn't help it. She laughed. Annabeth, and all demigods for that matter (except maybe Aphrodite's children) always had an over-abundance of energy. The thought of one of them sitting silently for hours designing a building seemed funny. The thought of that one being Annabeth was, for some reason, even funnier.

Annabeth, of course, took offence in that. "What's so funny about it? Athena expects her children to create things, not just tear them down like a certain god of earthquakes I could mention."

Atalanta looked down at the river while Annabeth was still fuming and Grover was holding his breath, bracing for the imminent explosion. Percy had a bad temper at times and the satyr was sure that Atalanta was worse.

The words that came out of Atalanta's mouth instead surprised everyone, even Atalanta herself. When she would think over them later she was sure they came, if not directly from her father, then from the part of her that was connected to the sea. They were both wrong, but that's a story for another time.

"Athena is a Goddess of humans. Useful arts, sciences, war. They are all aspects of human life. Poseidon is not like that. The sea is a force. It's sorrow and anger and _life_. The sea loves its children, but it does not care for humans any more than humans care for ants. She suffers those who respect her, but that's all. And tell me, daughter of Athena, how many lives have been lost and cultures destroyed in the wars the Goddess of Wisdom influenced or even instigated? It's right to respect you parent and hold her in higher esteem than the rest of the gods. But you shouldn't simply exalt the aspects of her that you like and ignore the rest. Nor should you believe that Athena's brand of wisdom is the only one that exists or the only one that has merit. Hers is the wisdom born from cold, hard logic. But there are other types of wisdom, some far older than hers and oft-times alien to humans. Poseidon's wisdom is the wisdom born of sorrow and long age. It's the sea's wisdom and it can be as deep and vast as it is. Artemis has her own brand of wisdom. Hers is the wisdom of animals and the wild nature, as well as the wisdom of the nights under the moon, when logic fails and imagination and instinctual fear and wonder and respect for the unknown take its place. Apollo too has wisdom, wisdom born of passion and feelings that burn as wildly as the fire of the sun itself. Even Aphrodite has wisdom and it's the one most close to Athena's for its wholly human in nature, if the complete opposite of your mother's. Don't be so secure in your own wisdom, Annabeth. Instead, learn to combine it with other kinds of wisdom. After all, didn't Athena and Poseidon work together once?"

So dumbfounded was Annabeth from Atalanta's speech that the only thing she could do was nod dumbly before she regained her wits. "Of course, the chariot, Athena invented it and Poseidon made the horses. But more important than that... WHAT THE FUCK? Where the hell did all that came from? Who are you and what did you do with Seaweed Brain?"

It took Atalanta a second to recover from hearing herself say something like that and another to recover from seeing Annabeth in shock and then she shrugged. "I'm not sure myself. It just...I don't know, came to me. It was like when you hear a question and if you know the answer it comes to the tip of the tongue on its own, only much larger and I couldn't stop myself from saying it. It was weird."

"You don't say." said Annabeth sarcastically before she started mumbling. Whatever was thinking however was interrupted by the announcement that they reached Amtrak and that they would leave for Denver in three hours.

Grover immediately set out to find food, but his quest was hijacked by Annabeth who dragged him and Atalanta off to go to the Gateway Arch. Atalanta didn't really feel like it but she didn't want the three of them to get separated nor did she want to argue with Annabeth again. Grover stated that he didn't care as long as the Arch had a monster-free snack bar, a sentiment Atalanta completely agreed with.

The Arch was about a mile from the train station. Late in the day the lines to get in weren't that long. The children threaded their way through the underground museum, looking at covered wagons and other junk from the 1800s. It wasn't all that thrilling, but Annabeth kept bombarding them with somewhat interesting facts about how the Arch was built, and Grover kept passing Atalanta jelly beans he had purchased with his last money, so it was okay.

Atalanta kept looking around, though, at the other people in line. "You smell anything?" Atalanta murmured to Grover. She couldn't believe she thought such a clichéd thing, but she had a really bad feeling about this.

Grover took his nose out of the jelly-bean bag long enough to sniff. "Underground," he said distastefully. "Underground air always smells like monsters. Probably doesn't mean anything."

Atalanta tried to comfort herself with Grover's words, but it didn't work. She really felt they shouldn't be there.

"Guys, do you know the gods' symbols of power?" she asked.

Annabeth had been in the middle of reading about the construction equipment used to build the Arch, but she looked over. "Yeah?"

"Well, Hade-"

Grover cleared his throat. "We're in a public place... You mean, our friend downstairs?"

"Um, right," said Atalanta. "Our friend way, way downstairs. Doesn't he have a hat like Annabeth's?"

"You mean the Helm of Darkness," Annabeth said. "Yeah, that's his symbol of power. I saw it next to his seat during the winter solstice council meeting."

"He was there?" asked Atalanta surprised. Considering how bad everyone said his relationship with his brothers was, she would expect they wouldn't allow him in Olympus.

She nodded. "It's the only time he's allowed to visit Olympus-the darkest day of the year. But his helm is a lot more powerful than my invisibility hat, if what I've heard is true..."

"It allows him to become darkness," Grover confirmed. "He can melt into shadow or pass through walls. He can't be touched, or seen, or heard. And he can radiate fear so intense it can drive you insane or stop your heart. Why do you think all rational creatures fear the dark?"

"But then ... how do we know he's not here right now, watching us?" Atalanta asked. Her uncle was really creepy if that was his chosen symbol of power

Annabeth and Grover exchanged looks. "We don't," Grover said.

"Thanks, that makes me feel a lot better." said Atalanta sarcastically.

She'd almost mastered her jumpy nerves when she saw the tiny little elevator car they were going to ride to the top of the Arch, and she knew she was in trouble. She really really hated confined places. They drove her nuts.

They got shoehorned into the car with a big fat lady and her dog, a Chihuahua with a rhinestone collar. Atalanta figured maybe the dog was a seeing-eye Chihuahua, because none of the guards said a word about it.

They started going up, inside the Arch. Atalanta had never been in an elevator that went in a curve, and her stomach was making its displeasure known.

"No parents?" the fat lady asked them.

She had beady eyes; pointy, coffee-stained teeth; a floppy denim hat, and a denim dress that bulged so much, she looked like a blue-jean blimp.

"They're below," Annabeth told her. "Scared of heights."

"Oh, the poor darlings."

Atalanta almost face-palmed. And she thought her circus story with Medusa was bad. She, Annabeth and Grover were obviously not siblings. What were the chances that all their parents would be scared of heights? And even if they were, would they really leave their children go ahead unsupervised? She didn't know if she should be more surprised with Annabeth's inability to come up with a better story or with the fact the old lady believed it.

The Chihuahua growled and its owner admonished it. "Now, now, sonny. Behave." The dog had beady eyes like its owner, intelligent and vicious.

Atalanta lifted an eyebrow. "Sonny? Is that his name?"

"No." was the lady's simple reply. She smiled, as if that cleared everything up.

At the top of the Arch, the observation deck reminded Atalanta of a tin can with carpeting, something she made very certain no to mention to Annabeth. Rows of tiny windows looked out over the city on one side and the river on the other.

The view was okay, but if there was anything Atalanta liked less than a confined space, that was a confined space six hundred feet in the air. She was ready to go pretty quick.

Annabeth kept talking about structural supports, and how she would've made the windows bigger, and designed a see-through floor.

'Trust Annabeth to find flows in a national monument.' thought Atalanta amused.

She probably could've stayed up there for hours, but luckily for Poseidon's daughter the park ranger announced that the observation deck would be closing in a few minutes.

She steered Grover and Annabeth toward the exit, loaded them into the elevator, and was about to get in herself when she realized there were already two other tourists inside. No room for her.

The park ranger said, "Next car, miss."

"We'll get out." Annabeth said. "We'll wait with you."

But that was going to mess everybody up and take even more time, so Atalanta refused. "Naw, it's okay. I'll see you guys at the bottom."

Grover and Annabeth both looked nervous, but they let the elevator door slide shut. Their car disappeared down the ramp. Now the only people left on the observation deck were Atalanta, a little boy with his parents, the park ranger, and the fat lady with her Chihuahua.

She smiled uneasily at the fat lady, who smiled back, her forked tongue flickering between her teeth.

Atalanta freaked out. 'A forked tongue? Did I really see a forked tongue? Don't tell me that's she's...'

Before she could finish her thoughts, the Chihuahua jumped down and started yapping at her.

"Now, now, sonny," the lady said. "Does this look like a good time? We have all these nice people here."

"Doggie!" said the little boy. "Look, a doggie!" His parents pulled him back. The Chihuahua bared his teeth at the young Hero, foam dripping from his black lips.

"Well, son," the fat lady sighed. "If you insist."

Atalanta's bad feeling was confirmed. "Um, did you just call that Chihuahua your son?" she asked, hoping against hope that she was mistaken.

"Chimera, dear," the fat lady corrected. "Not a Chihuahua. It's an easy mistake to make."

She rolled up her denim sleeves, revealing that the skin of her arms was scaly and green. When she smiled, Atalanta saw that her teeth were fangs. The pupils of her eyes were sideways slits, like a reptile's.

The Chihuahua barked louder, and with each bark, it grew. First to the size of a Doberman, then to a lion. The bark became a roar.

Atalanta's only thought was 'Oh crap.'

The little boy screamed. His parents pulled him back toward the exit, straight into the park ranger, who stood, paralyzed, gaping at the monster.

The Chimera was now so tall its back rubbed against the roof. It had the head of a lion with a blood-caked mane, the body and hooves of a giant goat, and a serpent for a tail, a ten-foot-long diamondback growing right out of its shaggy behind. The rhinestone dog collar still hung around its neck, and the plate-sized dog tag was now easy to read: CHIMERA-RABID, FIRE-BREATHING, POISONOUS-IF FOUND, PLEASE CALL TARTARUS-EXT. 954.

Atalanta's body moved before her mind had a chance to catch up. She uncapped her sword and got ready to fight in less than a second. Adrenaline filled her body and her mind sharpened, analyzing everything she was seeing in an instant. Almost all the fear she was feeling was discarded. It would only hold her back. She was ten feet away from the Chimera's bloody maw, and she knew that as soon as she moved, the creature would lunge.

The snake lady made a hissing noise that might have been laughter. "Be honoured, Percy Jackson. Lord Zeus rarely allows me to test a hero with one of my brood. For I am the Mother of Monsters, the terrible Echidna!"

Atalanta stared at her, filled with distaste and anger. She knew that she wouldn't gain anything by taunting her, but she couldn't help herself. "Echidna, Echidna... Isn't that a kind of anteater?"

She howled, her reptilian face turning brown and green with rage. "I hate it when people say that! I hate Australia! Naming that ridiculous animal after me. For that, cursed son of Poseidon, my son shall destroy you!"

The Chimera charged, its lion teeth gnashing. Atalanta leaped aside and dodged the bite, slashing at the monster's neck as it went past. The blow was deflected by the collar the Chimera was wearing, doing no damage at all. Atalanta cursed herself for her carelessness. She knew the Chimera was wearing a collar, so why did she strike there?

I ended up next to the family and the park ranger, who were all screaming now, trying to pry open the emergency exit doors and got ready again.

She couldn't let them get hurt. She ran to the other side of the deck, and yelled, "Hey, Chihuahua!" The Chimera turned faster than she would've thought possible.

Before she could swing her sword, it opened its mouth, emitting a stench like the world's largest barbecue pit, and shot a column of flame straight at the demigod.

Atalanta immediately dived to the side. The carpet burst into flames; the heat was so intense, it nearly seared off her eyebrows.

Where she had been standing a moment before was a ragged hole in the side of the Arch, with melted metal steaming around the edges.

'That's some serious firepower.' she thought. Then: 'We just blowtorched a national monument. Annabeth is going to kill me.'

Mentally shaking her head at her thought progress, she waited for the Chimera to start to turn, then leaped forward and slashed at its right eye. The monster let out a roar of pain.

Atalanta felt a sense of accomplishment fill her. 'I can do it!' she thought. Then Chimera's snake-headed tailed whipped around and bit her in the right calf.

Even as she cried in pain, feeling the monster's poison flow into her, Riptide flashed downward, cutting of the tail. The girl immediately jumped back avoiding her enemy's fangs. She stumbled as she landed.

She shot a glance behind her. She was standing in front of the hole the Chimera had opened, which was a place she never wanted to be. That is, between an enraged monster and a very long fall. Oh, and she was poisoned.

Echidna chuckled. "Not bad, little hero, but nowhere near good enough. Now, son, finish her."

As Atalanta saw the monster open its maw to breath fire on her, she reacted on instict. Her hand shot forward and let go of Riptide. The celestial bronze blade twirled once, twice... and then it was buried deep into the Chimera's mouth. The monster, fatally wounded, tried and failed to let out a last roar, and then turned to dust, Riptide falling to the floor.

Echidna was stunned at what happened and Atalanta took advantage to limp forward and reclaim her sword. She could barely feel her right leg anymore and the numbness was starting to spread to the rest of her body as well.

Echidna let out a scream, and, her face full of rage and hate, charged at Atalanta far faster than the girl expected. "You kill my son! You will pay for this, godling." shouted the Mother of Monsters.

Atalanta tried to retreat and fend her off with Riptide, but to no avail. A blow from Echidna sent the sword flying out of the hole in the Arch and its force made Atalanta stumble to the edge.

Echidna approached her slowly. "If you are the child of Poseidon," Echidna hissed, "you would not fear water. Jump, cursed one. Show me that water will not harm you. Jump and retrieve your sword. Prove your bloodline."

Atalanta looked down at the Mississippi. She stood no chance against Echidna weaponless and she could feel the poison eating away her life. What awaited her below was a river at the middle of USA. There was neither sea nor Sea God there. Still, what other choice did she have?

Echidna must have sensed her decision because she rushed forward to kill her, but she was too late.

As she was falling, Atalanta remembered the times she thought her father had visited her when she was young as well as how highly her mother always spoke of him. And she prayed to him to help her.

Then she hit the water.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** At long last here's the next chapter. As usual, I don't own anything. Now, I have a question for you. Currently, I'm planning to keep my chapters in line with those of the books, at least for those chapters based on the books. That is to say, most chapters will start and end at about the same point as the respective chapters of the book. Should I do it like that, or should I merge them to bigger chapters?

**Chapter 3:**

**Unforeseen Messages and Problems**

Atalanta closed her eyes and waited for the impact and the pain to come. Possibly her death as well.

She felt the impact with the water, but there was no pain to accompany it. If anything, it felt as if she had jumped on a very soft mattress and then went through it. Slightly uncomfortable, but not painful at all.

She let out a gasp of surprise at that. Her eyes flew open as she realized she could breathe. Underwater. She opened her eyes and checked herself for injuries, noticing that she was completely dry.

She didn't find anything wrong. Even the feeling of the poison coursing through her veins and the numbness in her leg had disappeared.

That was a miracle almost comparable to when Artemis turned her to a girl and a far more welcome one. And Atalanta knew who she had to thank for it.

"Thank you, father, for saving me."

Her thanks given, Atalanta looked around her, noticing that, filthy as it was, the water didn't hurt her eyes at all, nor did it affect her eyesight.

She was at the bottom of the river, and the only thing near her was a giant of a catfish. That and rubbish. Lots of rubbish. Atalanta winced at the thought of what Grover would say if he was there to see it.

She looked around for her sword and saw Riptide lying in the mud. She hurried to pick it up, once again noticing that the water offered no resistance as she moved. It would seem that for her being on ground and underwater was the same. If anything, she felt stronger underwater.

She had just recovered her sword and was about to head back in the Arch to protect the people there from the enraged Echidna when she heard a female voice speaking, echoing around the water seemingly coming from everywhere.

"You need not worry, brave child of Poseidon. Echidna has already left. The humans are safe."

She fell into a battle position, reading her sword. "Who and where are you?" she challenged, looking around her, trying to locate the speaker.

Then she saw her. She was floating a little above Atalanta's eye level. A women the colour of water, with long billowing hair and bright green eyes the same color as Atalanta's own.

She was eerily similar to Atalanta's mother, and the girl couldn't help herself.

"Mom? Is that you?" Even as she said it, she knew it was impossible. There was just no way that her mother could be there.

"No, child, only a messenger, though your mother's fate is not as hopeless as you believe. Go to the beach in Santa Monica." Replied the woman.

Atalanta was surprised by the sudden request. "What? Why?" she asked.

"Your father summons you. Before you journey to the Underworld you must go to Santa Monica. Please, Atalanta. I can't stay long here. The water is simply too foul." She added with a grimace, looking as if the dirty water actually caused her physical pain.

"I…understand. I'll do as you ask." Atalanta wasn't thrilled with the delay, but she didn't think she had much choice.

"Thank you child. Make haste, for you don't have much time. And remember." She added as her image started to melt away and her voice fade. "Don't trust the gifts."

Atalanta's head shot up. "Wait, what? What gifts are you talking about?"

There was no answer to the demigod's question. Whoever and whatever the woman was she was gone.

"Oh, come on! You can't just say something like that and then leave."

She waited, but again there was no reply. "Sure, go ahead and ignore me. It's not as if this is a life and death matter." She grumbled as she headed towards the surface.

When she surfaced she looked around. About a block away from her what looked like every emergency vehicle in St. Louis and half its population had gathered around the Arch. That, of course, included several television crews. How none of all these people saw Atalanta's dive, she would never know.

'It's probably because of the Mist.' She thought as she swam to the shore, thankful that everybody's attention was turned to the Arch.

Or almost everybody's. A little girl spotted her as she walked out of the water and tried to tell her mother, but luckily she ignored her daughter.

Until yesterday, if somebody had told her that she would ever be glad that parents sometimes ignore their children, she would believe them to be either crazy or Furies.

She started pushing towards the police line, hoping that she would either find Annabeth and Grover there or on the way.

While she was struggling to advance through the crowd she heard a reporter mentioning that there were survivors, which was a welcome relief. At least she didn't almost get killed for nothing.

Her relief, however, was short-lived, for soon after she heard another reporter saying that they suspected a teenage girl for the incident. They were somewhat right, of course, but Atalanta didn't really care about that.

She ducked her head and started to back off. She wondered what she should know. Her chances of finding Annabeth and Grover in this chaos where next to none, especially since they were probably near the police line hoping to find out what happened to her. She cursed the fact that they couldn't use mobile phones.

Surprisingly enough, for once Atalanta actually had some good luck. "Atalanta! There you are!"

Hearing the familiar voice she turned around, only to be met face on with a full speed bear-or maybe goat-hug, courtesy of Grover.

"Thank the gods! We thought you had gone to Hades the hard way!" Grover said, full of relief.

Annabeth too was relieved. Or at least half-relieved. The other half was anger, though that too was because of her worry. Or so Atalanta chose to believe.

"I can't leave you alone for five minutes, kelp-for-brains! What happened to you?" she asked.

"I was too lazy to come down the normal way, so I thought I would take the express elevator." Joked Atalanta. In hindsight, that probably wasn't a good idea.

Sure enough… "Don't joke about that! That was a 360 feet fall! If you weren't Lord Poseidon's child you would be dead now." admonished Annabeth, lightly slapping her friend at the back of her head as she did so.

Atalanta apologized to Annabeth and was about to explain to the other two what had happened, when the crowd parted, making way for a couple of paramedics that where carrying a woman on a stretcher.

Atalanta recognized her. She was amongst the people at the observation deck, the mother of the little boy. And judging from her mumblings about a huge fire-breathing Chihuahua, she had a pretty good idea about what had happened. A Mist-influenced good idea, but a good idea nonetheless.

The ex-boy decided that discretion was the better part of valor, grabbed her friends and dragged them away, on the way filling them in about what had happened since they entered the elevator without her. Grover immediately said that they should take Atalanta to Santa Monica pronto. Ignoring a direct summon from a god, especially Atalanta's dad, just wouldn't do.

Annabeth was about to chip in her own two cents, when they heard a nearby reporter make a very surprising and very troublesome announcement.

"Atalanta Jackson. That's right, Dan. Channel Twelve has learned that the girl who may have caused this explosion fits the description of a young woman wanted by authorities for a serious New Jersey bus accident three days ago. And the girl is believed to be travelling west. For our viewers at home, here is a photo of Atalanta Jackson." Said the reporter.

The children immediately ducked behind the van and out of sight. All three of them were very confused. It's true that before they took the train they had seen newspapers mentioning the bus incident, as well as that the police was after Percy for the bus incident and the disappearance of his mother. But they were clearly mentioning _Percy_, not Atalanta. The trio had considered that a fortunate side effect of Percy's transformation.

But now not only the news clearly referred to Atalanta as such and not as Percy, they also acted as if the earlier reports were also mentioning a girl instead of a boy. And where the hell did they find a picture of Atalanta anyway?

Said girl turned to Annabeth full of confusion. "I don't get it. Is this also because of the Mist? If so, why did it wait until now to happen?"

Annabeth decided that getting out of there as fast as possible was more important for the time being. "We can worry about that later. We need go back to the train. And let's keep out of sight as much as possible."

It wasn't easy, but after several extremely tense minutes, they managed to reach the train shortly before it leaved, remaining unnoticed all the while. It was only then that she answered Atalanta's question.

"No, that wasn't because of the Mist. The Mist is a useful and pretty powerful tool, but it can't do something that complex. No, that was the act of a god."

She hesitated before continuing. "The only god that would both think about doing this and actually bother doing it, especially with this timing, is Athena." She looked down. "I'm sorry, Atalanta."

Atalanta lifted an eyebrow. "Why? Even if you're right, it was your mother that did it, not you. I doubt you asked her to do this. It's not your fault Annabeth." She said in a comforting tone.

But Annabeth shook her head. "You don't get it. My mother doesn't do things halfway. It's very probable that, excluding your mother, every record and every memory of Percy Jackson has disappeared from the society of normal humans. If am right, as far as they are concerned, Percy Jackson never even existed. For them it's as if you were always Atalanta. And if the gods went as far as doing that, it probably means…"

"They don't plan to turn me back." Finished Atalanta quietly.

Annabeth nodded silently. Grover looked like he didn't know what to say.

The daughter of Poseidon stayed silent for a long time. When she finally spoke, her words very different than what her friends were expecting. "It's getting late. We should eat something, we need it. I don't think it's a good idea for me to show my face much, so can you two go two the dining car and get some food?"

Her voice was almost a whisper and lacked all of its usual energy. Grover was about to comment, but Annabeth closed his mouth with her palm. She gave Atalanta an understanding nod and then dragged Grover out.

The two ate at the dining car as slow as possible, Annabeth insisting that they should give Atalanta some time alone. When they returned, carrying with them food for her, she was already asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 4:**

**Traps, Tricks and Lies**

By the time their train reached Denver Atalanta had gotten out of her funk. After all, she reasoned, if one god could make it as if Percy Jackson never existed, perhaps another (namely her father) could return things to the way they were.

And if not, well, half the population of the planet were female and they could live without problems. At least, as Annabeth pointed out, she got turned to a female before puberty could really set in. If she had been changed a couple years later, things would have been much more confusing. And a hell of a lot more awkward.

Anyway, Atalanta was back in the game, which was a good thing. It was afternoon of June 14, which meant that they had only a week left to find Zeus's bolt and return it to Olympus. To make matters worse, they hadn't eaten anything since last night and they hadn't had the chance to bathe since Half-Blood Hill. Which, not only was more than obvious once one got close to them, it also annoyed Atalanta more than it used to. Oh and there was always the chance the next person they met would recognize Atalanta and call the police. Peachy.

"Sooo, what do we do next?" Atalanta asked Annabeth after they left the train. The daughter of Athena was their best bet to find a way out of this mess.

"First things first. We need to contact Chiron. I want to tell him about your talk with the naiad. Perhaps he has some advice for us as well." She replied.

It was as good a plan as any. But… "And how do you suggest we do that? If my memory serves me right, we can't phone."

Annabeth smirked at her. "Who said anything about using phones?"

Much to the annoyance of Atalanta, Annabeth refused to explain anything more. They wandered downtown for the next half hour, looking for Poseidon-knows-what, Annabeth and Grover pointedly ignoring all of Atalanta's inquires about how they would contact Chiron. She was certain they were taking some sort of twisted pleasure by seeing her in such a frustrated state. The fact that the air was too hot and dry for her tastes didn't really help her either.

Eventually they stopped to an empty do-it-yourself car wash. They veered toward the stall farthest from the street, keeping their eyes open for patrol cars. They were three adolescents hanging out at a car wash without a car. One of them a wanted fugitive. Any cop that couldn't figure they were up to no good in one glance, Atalanta thought, should be permanently banned from eating doughnuts.

"Could someone finally tell me what we are doing?" asked Atalanta, lifting an eyebrow as she saw Grover taking out the spray gun.

Apparently not. She sighed as she saw Grover asking Annabeth for the quarter he needed. Once she heard Annabeth had given her last money to the dinning car, Atalanta fished out her last money, passing them to Grover, which left her broke, with the exception of one drachma.

"Thanks Atalanta." Grover thanked her. "We could do it with a spray bottle, of course, but the connection isn't as good, and my arm gets tired of pumping."

"What are you talking about?" asked Atalanta, now completely confused.

Grover set the machine to FINE MIST as he replied. "I-M'ing"

Atalanta blinked. "What?" She somehow doubted he meant instant messaging.

"Iris messaging." explained Annabeth, finally taking pity on her. "The rainbow goddess Iris carries messages for the gods. If you know how to ask, and she's not too busy, she'll do the same for half-bloods."

"What kind of goddess allows herself to be summoned with a spray gun?" asked Atalanta. That didn't sound like something any self-respecting god would do.

'Then again,' she reminded herself, 'there actually was a god or goddess that sent a pink poodle to help us.'

"The kind of goddess that is actually summoned with a rainbow. If you know of an easier way to make one, by all means tell me." answered Grover as he pointed the nozzle in the air, water coming out and forming a thick white mist.

Sure enough, the light of the evening sun formed a rainbow as it passed through the mist.

Annabeth turned to Atalanta. "You still have a drachma from Medusa, don't you? Give it to me please."

There went the drachma. Now all three of them were well and truly broke.

Annabeth lifted the gold coin over her head, chanted "O goddess, accept our offering." and threw the drachma in the rainbow.

Atalanta half-expected it to bounce, but it disappeared in a gold simmer. That, she had to admit, actually looked pretty god-like.

"Half-Blood Hill." Annabeth requested.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then the mist seemed to disappear and they were looking through it at strawberry fields, and the Long Island Sound in the distance. They seemed to be on the porch of the Big House. Standing with his back to them at the railing was a sandy-haired guy in shorts and an orange tank top. He was holding a bronze sword and seemed to be staring intently at something down in the meadow.

"Luke!" called Atalanta happily, mentally shaking her head at his choice of clothes. Orange tank top, really?

The young man jumped in surprise and turned around. He looked at her puzzled. "Huh? Who are you? Annabeth, you are there as well? What's going on over there? Who's her?"

Atalanta was about to answer when she saw Luke take an understanding expression. "Oh, wait. We were told Percy was turned into a girl by Artemis. That you, Perce?"

Atalanta nodded. Luke looked like he couldn't decide between being amused and being sympathetic. "Anyway, thank the gods you guys are ok. How are you doing, Annabeth?"

"We're...uh...fine." Annabeth stammered. She was madly straightening her dirty T-shirt, trying to comb the loose hair out of her face. In her flustered state she didn't hear Atalanta's chuckle. "We thought…Chiron…I mean…"

"He's down at the cabins." Luke's smile faded. "We're having some issues with the campers. Listen, is everything cool with you? Is Grover all right?"

"I'm right here." Grover called. He held the nozzle out to one side and stepped into Luke's line of vision. "What kind of issues?"

Just then a big car pulled into the car wash next to them with its stereo turned to maximum hip-hop. As the car slid into the next stall, the bass from the subwoofers vibrated so much, it shook the pavement.

"Chiron had to-what's that noise?" Luke yelled.

"I'll take care of it." Annabeth yelled back, looking very relieved to have an excuse to get out of sight. "Grover, come on!"

"What?" Grover complained. "But…"

"Give Percy the nozzle and come on!" ordered Annabeth.

Grover muttered something about girls being harder to understand than the Oracle at Delphi, then he handed Atalanta the spray gun and followed Annabeth.

Atalanta wondered if she should take offence with Grover's mutter or agree with him.

She readjusted the hose so she could keep the rainbow going and still see Luke.

"Chiron had to break up a fight." Luke shouted to her over the music. "Things are pretty tense here, Percy. Wait, no, what did they say your new name was again? Atalanta, wasn't it?"

She nodded at Luke's questioning look and he continued.

"Anyway, word leaked out about the Zeus-Poseidon standoff. We're still not sure how-probably the same scumbag who summoned the hellhound. Now the campers are starting to take sides. It's shaping up like the Trojan War all over again. Aphrodite, Ares, and Apollo are backing Poseidon, more or less. Athena is, unsurprisingly, backing Zeus."

Atalanta shuddered at the idea of her and Clarisse being on the same side for any reason. The pandemonium from the next stall suddenly quieted down considerably. Knowing Annabeth, she was probably well on her way to scaring the passengers of the car into submission.

"So, how are you holding up, Perc-Atalanta?" Luke corrected himself. "Chiron would be sorry he missed you. He's regretting sending you on this quest something fierce. He saying all this must be very hard on you." he said, waving his hand in her direction when he said "all this".

And Atalanta talked to him. She told him pretty much everything, including her dreams and her worries about her…situation. It felt so good to see him. For a few minutes it felt as if they were back at camp, relaxing and talking after a hard training session or spar. She didn't realize how long she had talked until the beeper went off on the spray machine, and she realized she only had one more minute before the water shut off.

"I wish I could be there." Luke told her. "We can't do much from here, I'm afraid, but listen ... it had to be Hades who took the master bolt. He was there at Olympus at the winter solstice. I was chaperoning a field trip and we saw him."

"But Chiron said the gods can't take each other's magic items directly." said Atalanta troubled. That fact had been annoying her for some time now. It felt like she was missing something obvious.

"That's true." Luke said, looking troubled as well. "Still ... Hades has the helm of darkness. How could anybody else sneak into the throne room and steal the master bolt? You'd have to be invisible."

Atalanta glared at him and he stepped back, lifting his hands in surrender as he realised how his words could be interpreted.

"Oh, hey." he protested. "I didn't mean Annabeth. She and I have known each other forever. She would never ... I mean, she's like a little sister to me."

Atalanta didn't think Annabeth would like that description. She was wondering if she should say anything about it, but then, in the stall next to them, the music stopped completely, a man screamed in terror, car doors slammed, and the car peeled out of the car wash.

Apparently Annabeth finally managed to completely scare them into submission. Part of Atalanta really wanted to find out how she did it, but another part of her was just as adamant that it would be better to remain ignorant.

"You'd better go see what that was." Luke said. "Listen, are you wearing the flying shoes? I'll feel better if I know they've done you some good."

"Oh...uh, yeah!" At that moment, for some reason, she felt like she shouldn't let Luke know Grover had the shoes. So she settled for a half-truth.

"Yeah, they've come in handy." And they had. They saved Grover's life when they met the Medusa.

"Really?" he grinned. "They fit and everything?"

The water shut off. The mist started to evaporate.

"Well, take care of yourselves out there in Denver." Luke called, his voice getting fainter. "And tell Grover it'll be better this time! Nobody will get turned into a pine tree if he just…"

But the mist was gone, and Luke's image faded to nothing. Atalanta was alone in a wet, empty car wash stall. Alone with her thoughts and some very troubling conclusions. She knew of only one pine tree Luke could be referring to. And if the conclusions she drew were correct, relaying Luke's words to Grover would be a bad idea. Which Luke should know. So why?

Annabeth and Grover came around the corner, laughing, but stopped when they saw my face. Annabeth's smile faded. "What happened, Atalanta? What did Luke say?"

"Not much." she lied, instantly deciding not to worry her friends with what Luke told her. Thankfully, her grumbling stomach attracted everyone's attention. "Come on, let's find some dinner. I'm starving."

A few minutes later, they were sitting at a booth in a gleaming chrome diner. All around them, families were eating burgers and drinking malts and sodas.

Finally the waitress came over. She looked at them dubiously. "I don't know what you want, kids, but I hope you have money to pay for it."

Atalanta cursed inwardly. Now they would have to come up with some bullshit story and hope she'd believe them. 'Problem is, the last two times we had to come up with a sob story on the fly it turned out we were talking to monsters. Here's to hoping the waitress isn't one as well.'

As it turned out however, they didn't have to come up with anything.

Just then a rumble shook the whole building; a motorcycle only slightly smaller than your average baby elephant had pulled up to the curb.

All conversation in the diner stopped. The motorcycle's headlight glared red. Its gas tank had flames painted on it, and a shotgun holster riveted to either side, complete with shotgun. The seat was leather-but leather that looked like ... well, Caucasian human skin.

The guy on the bike would've made pro wrestlers run to hide under the bed. He was dressed in a red muscle shirt and black jeans and a black leather duster, with a hunting knife strapped to his thigh. He wore red wraparound shades, and he had the cruellest, most brutal face Atalanta had ever seen- handsome, one could say, but wicked-with an oily black crew cut and cheeks that were scarred from many, many fights. The weird thing was, she was pretty certain she'd seen his face somewhere before. And it was a face that annoyed the hell out of her to boot.

As he walked into the diner, a hot, dry wind blew through the place. All the people rose, as if they were hypnotized, but the biker waved his hand dismissively and they all sat down again. Everybody went back to their conversations.

The waitress blinked, as if somebody had just pressed the rewind button on her brain. She spoke to the three friends again. "I don't know what you want, kids, but I hope you have money to pay for it."

The biker intervened, saying "It's on me." He then slid into their booth, which was way too small for him, and crowded Annabeth against the window.

He looked up at the waitress, who was gaping at him, and said "Are you still here?"

He pointed at her, and she stiffened. She turned as if she'd been spun around, and then marched back toward the kitchen.

The biker looked at Atalanta. Though she couldn't see his eyes behind the red shades, bad feelings started boiling in her stomach. Anger, resentment, bitterness. She wanted to hit a wall or, better yet, pick a fight with somebody. And, as she thought how much she would like to punch the biker, she realized he was a god.

He gave her a wicked grin. "So you're old Seaweed's kid, huh? I should congratulate you. You are the first one to survive pissing off the huntress in a long time. Then again, Percy Jackson didn't really survive, did he now?"

Every word out of his mouth increased Atalanta urge to rip his head off. She felt as if she was looking at every bully she ever met and Gabe combined. And that put her in a very bad mood. She knew that she should weary and perhaps scared, but she couldn't help answering with the same kind of attitude he had. "What's it to you?"

Annabeth shot Atalanta a warning look. "Atalanta, this is…"

The biker raised his hand. "S'okay." he said. "I don't mind a little attitude. Long as you remember who's the boss. You know who I am, little cousin?"

She nodded. That vicious sneer was a dead giveaway. "You're Clarisse's dad." she said. "Ares, god of war."

Ares grinned and took off his shades. Where his eyes should've been, there was only fire, empty sockets glowing with miniature nuclear explosions. "That's right, punk. I heard you broke Clarisse's spear."

Atalanta shrugged, slowly putting her Ares-influenced anger under control. "She was asking for it."

Ares shrugged back at her. "Probably. That's cool. I don't fight my kids' fights, you know? What I'm here for-I heard you were in town. I got a little proposition for you."

The waitress came back with heaping trays of food-cheeseburgers, fries, onion rings, and chocolate shakes. Ares handed her a few gold drachmas.

The poor waitress tried to complain about the drachmas not being money (though Atalanta was pretty certain they were worth more than what the waitress earned in a year), but Ares scared her off with his knife.

Which didn't do anything to help Atalanta's foul mood. With every second she spent with Ares she got more and more certain that the true god of war was Athena and he was just the god of bullies.

"You can't do that." she told Ares, trying to keep her voice as level as possible. "You can't just threaten people with a knife."

Ares laughed in response. "Are you kidding? I love this country. Best place since Sparta. Don't you carry a weapon, punk? You should. Dangerous world out there. Which brings me to my proposition. I need you to do me a favor."

"What could I do that a god can't?" she said, making sure not to let how sarcastic the question was show.

Thankfully, Ares didn't pick up on it. "Something a god doesn't have time to do himself. It's nothing much. I left my shield at an abandoned water park here in town. I was going on a little ... date with my girlfriend. We were interrupted. I left my shield behind. I want you to fetch it for me."

Atalanta almost rolled her eyes. 'Of all the stupid quests he could come up with, he chose this one?'

"Why don't you go back and get it yourself?" she asked, sounding a little more bored than she would like. She had learned the hard way not to antagonize the gods, at least not without a relatively good reason, but she couldn't help herself with this guy.

The fire in his eye sockets glowed a little hotter. "Why don't I turn you into a prairie dog and run you over with my Harley? Because I don't feel like it. A god is giving you an opportunity to prove yourself, Atalanta Jackson. Will you prove yourself a coward?"

He leaned forward. "Or maybe you only fight when there's a river to dive into, so your daddy can protect you. I wasn't there when you sent Medusa's head to Olympus, but I heard about it. Once my anger wore off, I actually liked your guts. What, did you lost them when you got turned into a _girl_?" He said the word girl as if it was an insult.

Atalanta actually smiled at this. She knew just how to answer that. "You better be careful, Lord Ares." she said cordially. Ares looked surprised at her suddenly respectful tone. "If Lady Artemis were to hear you, I'm certain she would be pretty angry with you." she continued, still smiling pleasantly.

Ares actually paled at that. He knew it was true. Not to mention the fact that he had a bad history with insulted goddesses kicking his ass. Artemis, Nike and of course that bitch Athena. There was also that one time a few centuries ago that he took a vacation in northern Europe and run into a group of valkyries. That one had hurt. To this day he was certain those girls were actually trying to kill him.

And then there was the problem that if he actually hurt the brat personally, let alone kill her, Poseidon would feed him to the fishes. Literally. He turned his attention back to Atalanta just in time to hear her next words.

"Besides," she was saying, "we've already got a quest."

Ares's fiery eyes made Atalanta see things she really didn't want to see-blood and smoke and corpses on the battlefield.

"I know all about your quest, punk. When that item was first stolen, Zeus sent his best out looking for it: Apollo, Athena, Artemis, and me, naturally. If I couldn't sniff out a weapon that powerful..." He licked his lips, as if the very thought of the master bolt made him hungry.

"Well...if I couldn't find it, you got no hope. Nevertheless, I'm trying to give you the benefit of the doubt. Your dad and I go way back. After all, I'm the one who told him my suspicions about old Corpse Breath." He continued, grinning slightly.

Atalanta was surprised at this piece of information. "You told him Hades stole the bolt?"

"Sure. Framing somebody to start a war. Oldest trick in the book. I recognized it immediately. In a way, you got me to thank for your little quest."

"Geez, thanks. Much obliged." Atalanta grumbled. That clinched it. She was definitely finding a way to pay Ares back for this mess. After she was done beating the moron who stole the master bolt to a bloody pulp.

"Hey, I'm a generous guy. Just do my little job, and I'll help you on your way. I'll arrange a ride west for you and your friends." Ares said, ignoring her discomfort in favour of enjoying her annoyance and anger.

"Thanks but no thanks. We're doing just fine on our own." Atalanta refused. Of course, that was total bullshit, and she knew it.

Ares did too. "Yeah, right. No money. No wheels. No clue what you're up against. Help me out, and maybe I'll tell you something you need to know. Something about your mom."

That captured Atalanta's attention better than anything else Ares could have said, up to and including the location of the master bolt. "My mom?" she asked, her face hungry for information.

He grinned nastily, enjoying her reaction. "I thought that would get your attention. The water park is a mile west on Delancy. You can't miss it. Look for the Tunnel of Love ride."

Atalanta now knew she would do as he asked. But that didn't mean that she would let him go without getting more information about what they were getting into. Or, at least, without a parting shot. "What interrupted your date?" she asked. "Something scare you off?"

Ares bared his teeth, but his threatening look seemed to be empty, false. In fact Atalanta would swear he was nervous, if not actually scared. And that worried her.

Ares gritted his teeth, his eyes flashing. "You're lucky you met me, punk, and not one of the other Olympians. They're not as forgiving of rudeness as I am, as you should know. I'll meet you back here when you're done. Don't disappoint me."

After that they must have fainted, or fallen into a trance, because when they opened their eyes again, Ares was gone. Atalanta would have very much liked to pass the meeting with the god of war off as a dream, but she knew it wasn't. And judging from their expressions, Annabeth and Grover agreed with her.

"Not good, not good at all." Grover said. "Ares sought you out, Atalanta. This is definitely not good."

"Yeah, I know, G-man." Atalanta sighed, staring out the window. The motorcycle had disappeared.

Did Ares really know something about her mom, or was he just playing with her? He definitely looked like a guy that would enjoy doing just that.

Atalanta also realized that with Ares gone, she had abruptly calmed down, as if somebody had flicked a switch inside of her. 'That must be his power-cranking up the passions so badly, they cloud one's ability to think. He really is a nasty piece of work.' She thought.

"I would really like to say that this is some kind of trick and we should just forget about it," she said "But something tells me that wouldn't be a good idea. And I need to find out of he really knows something about my mom."

"You are right." Annabeth nodded. "I hate Ares as much as anybody, but you don't ignore the gods unless you want serious bad fortune. He wasn't kidding about turning you into a rodent. And seriously Atalanta, the talent of pissing off the gods is NOT a good talent for a demigod to have. You need to tone it down a bit."

Atalanta ignored her, looking down at her cheeseburger. She wasn't that hungry anymore. "But I still can't imagine what he would need us for. What can we do he can't?" she asked.

"Maybe it's a problem that requires brains." Annabeth said. "Ares has strength. That's all he has. Even strength has to bow to wisdom sometimes." Atalanta thought Annabeth looked quite smug when she said that. Not to mention that that 'sometimes' sounded awfully like 'most of the time', but she was probably right, so Atalanta didn't comment.

"But this water park...he acted almost scared. What would make a war god run away like that?" THAT was something Atalanta really wasn't looking forward to find out.

Annabeth and Grover glanced nervously at each other.

"I'm afraid we'll have to find out." said Annabeth.

The sun was sinking behind the mountains by the time they found the water park. Judging from the sign, it once had been called WATERLAND, but now some of the letters were smashed out, so it read WAT R A D.

The main gate was padlocked and topped with barbed wire. Inside, huge dry waterslides and tubes and pipes curled everywhere, leading to empty pools. Old tickets and advertisements fluttered around the asphalt. With night coming on, the place looked sad and creepy.

"If Ares brings his girlfriend here for a date, not to mention the fact she actually likes him," she said, staring up at the barbed wire, "I'd hate to see what she looks like."

"Atalanta," Annabeth warned. "What did I tell you about pissing off gods? Be more respectful."

"Why? I thought you hated Ares."

"He's still a god. And his girlfriend is very temperamental."

"You don't want to insult her looks." Grover added.

Atalanta snorted. "Name one non-mortal we met since we started this quest that _wasn't _temperamental. Who's his girlfriend anyway? Echidna? They sure suit each other."

"No, Aphrodite." Grover said, a little dreamily. "Goddess of beauty and love."

Atalanta snorted again. "No offence meant to her, but I find it hard to believe she's more beautiful than Lady Artemis. In fact, if she came _here _for a date with _him_, I can't believe she's that beautiful no matter what anyone says."

Annabeth's head turned towards Atalanta so fast it almost flew of her shoulders. She ignored Grover who had gone on a tirade about how wonderful Artemis was. If there ever was a satyr that wasn't head over heels for the Lady of the Hunt, she hadn't met him yet. She even ignored the fact that Atalanta had just blatantly insulted Aphrodite. She didn't name any of the gods, so they wouldn't know what she said unless they were actively watching her. Annabeth was certain Aphrodite had much more "important" things to do. Or at least she hoped so, otherwise Atalanta was in for some very bad times.

No, what really worried Annabeth was the first part of her friend's comment. It could be the warning sign for some very, _very_ big trouble down the road. She just hoped that it didn't mean anything. She would have to keep her eyes for any further signs though. She silently prayed to Athena that she was wrong.

"Anyway, how are we going to get in?" she asked.

Meanwhile, on Olympus:

Zeus, Poseidon, Hestia, Athena and Artemis where in the throne room, watching the three demigods and the progress of their quest, as they had been doing ever since the Medusa incident.

Zeus was still suspicious of Poseidon, and Poseidon was still angry with Zeus, but Hestia had put her foot down, saying that they should act like the grown men they were and observe until the quest reached its outcome.

Seeing that she was very close to losing her patience they did as they were told. Last time she lost her patience she kicked Ares's ass all the way to Tartarus and back. She might be the more patient, tolerant and understanding resident of Olympus, but in the (unofficial) list of "gods you don't want to piss off", she was ranked second, above Poseidon and below Artemis.

Athena was there partly because this was a very important event that could shape history, so she needed to know what would happened in order to plan accordingly, and partly because she was worried for her daughter.

Artemis wasn't sure why she was there. Usually she didn't care about what happened to those she punished. She was interested in what the ex-boy could do though. So far… Artemis wouldn't say that she was impressed, but Atalanta had done relatively well. Well enough to make Artemis wonder how she would have fared if she hadn't been changed. Not as good as she did now, naturally, but still…

Right now though, all the gods were amused after they heard Atalanta's words about Aphrodite. To be more precise, Zeus and Poseidon were laughing their asses off, Athena was smirking, Hestia was giggling behind her hand, and Artemis…

Artemis was also smirking, but she wasn't sure about how she should feel. It had been a very long time since she had been called like that. She didn't walk amongst humans unless she wanted to recruit a new hunter, and no god or demigod dared to approach her like that, especially after the Orion debacle. Unless she counted the satyrs, which always called her beautiful every time they caught sight of her, but well… they were satyrs.

Artemis would usually ignore such a comment. It was just an opinion after all, and not a negative one. She wasn't sure why the comment actually mattered this time. Maybe it was because she was being compared to Aphrodite, even if it was by a person who had never actually seen Aphrodite. Maybe it was because it came from someone who had only seen her in a bad mood. Usually such people didn't call her beautiful. Of course, most such people couldn't even speak after seeing her, for various reasons. Or maybe it mattered because it came from the mouth of someone whose life she had turned upside down not so long ago.

Before she could think further on this, her thoughts were disturbed by Poseidon asking Zeus about how they could transfer Atalanta's comment to Aphrodite without letting her know who it came from.

Artemis smirk grew wider at that. That was something she could do and would take great pleasure in doing. Ever since the Orion incident and the bear incident (one of which ended with Aphrodite and Eros in a world of pain and the other with the mother and son pair having less children and believers than before, as well as being in even more pain than the previous incident), Artemis held a great dislike for Aphrodite. One could even say that Aphrodite's very existence annoyed the hell out of Artemis.

Artemis lived by the simple adage of "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, and a shitload of arrows and pain for anyone stupid enough to mess with my hunters".

That meant that she believed that the punishment should fit the crime. Which in turn meant that she took great pleasure in annoying Aphrodite as much as possible when she had the chance.

She didn't go out of her way to do it, of course. After all, she spent the vast majority of her time with her hunters in forests. Not the kind of places the goddess of love could be found.

Now, however, she was being presented with a perfect opportunity. Aphrodite would go feral, both with the insult and with trying to find who said it. It would take some time to make certain she would never find out, as well as make it so that as many gods as possible were present, but it could be done. (One should note at this point that Artemis's definition of crime, as well as the punishment fitting said crime and the levels of pain and humiliation said punishment consists of, is _slightly_ different than that of most people, gods included.)

Her decision taken, she turned her attention back to the half-bloods and the satyr.

Meanwhile, Athena was also thinking, but not as much. She had heard her daughter's prayer, and agreed that if she was right it would mean lots of trouble. Lots of trouble for the Seaspawn, that is. Athena didn't really care about that.

Zeus and Poseidon also turned their attention back to the young heroes.

As for Hestia… She was secretly very pleased. Things seemed to be working out even better than she had hoped for, and that's saying something.

Back with our heroes:

"Maia!" Grover's shoes sprouted wings. He flew over the fence, did an unintended somersault in midair, and then stumbled to a landing on the opposite side. He dusted off his jeans, as if he'd planned the whole thing. "You guys coming?" If he wasn't such a good friend, Atalanta would have been tempted to punch him for that.

The two girls had to climb the old-fashioned way, holding down the barbed wire for each other as they crawled over the top.

The shadows grew long as they walked through the park, checking out the attractions. No monsters came to attack them. Nothing made the slightest noise.

Eventually, they found a souvenir shop that had been left open. Merchandise still lined the shelves: snow globes, pencils, postcards, and racks of-

"Clothes." Annabeth said. "Fresh clothes."

"Yeah." said Atalanta. "But you can't just…"

"Watch me."

She snatched an entire row of stuff of the racks and disappeared into the changing room. A few minutes later she came out in Waterland flower-print shorts, a big red Waterland T-shirt, and commemorative Waterland surf shoes. A Waterland backpack was slung over her shoulder, obviously stuffed with more goodies.

"What the heck." Grover shrugged. Soon, all three of them were decked out like walking advertisements for the defunct theme park.

Atalanta couldn't believe that earlier she was dissing Luke in her mind about his orange tank top and now she was wearing _this_. Good thing she hadn't voiced her thoughts, or she would've never lived this down.

They continued searching for the Tunnel of Love. It seemed to Atalanta that the whole park was holding its breath. "Grover, you smell any monsters?" she muttered. The satyr shook his head.

"So Ares and Aphrodite," she said after a while, trying to keep her mind off the growing dark, "they have a thing going?"

"That's old gossip, Atalanta." Annabeth told her. "Three-thousand-year-old gossip."

"What about Aphrodite's husband? It was Hephaestus, wasn't it?"

"Right." confirmed Annabeth. "He was crippled when he was a baby, thrown off Mount Olympus by Zeus. So he isn't exactly handsome. Clever with his hands, and all, but Aphrodite isn't into brains and talent, you know?"

Atalanta snorted. "Yeah, she prefers bikers."

Annabeth chuckled. "You could say that."

"Hephaestus knows?"

"Oh sure." Annabeth said. "He caught them together once. I mean, literally caught them, in a golden net, and invited all the gods to come and laugh at them. Hephaestus is always trying to embarrass them. That's why they meet in out-of-the-way places, like..."

She stopped, looking straight ahead. "Like that."

In front of them was an empty pool that would've been awesome for skateboarding. It was at least fifty yards across and shaped like a bowl.

Around the rim, a dozen bronze statues of Cupid stood guard with wings spread and bows ready to fire. On the opposite side from them, a tunnel opened up, probably where the water flowed into when the pool was full. The sign above it read, THRILL RIDE O' LOVE: THIS IS NOT YOUR PARENTS' TUNNEL OF LOVE!

Grover crept toward the edge. "Guys, look."

Marooned at the bottom of the pool was a pink-and-white two-seater boat with a canopy over the top and little hearts painted all over it. In the left seat, glinting in the fading light was Ares's shield, a polished circle of bronze.

"This looks way too easy." Atalanta said. "So what, we just walk down there and get it? That can't be right."

Annabeth ran her fingers along the base of the nearest Cupid statue.

"There's a Greek letter carved here," she said. "Eta. I wonder..."

Atalanta turned to Grover. "Still no monsters?"

The satyr sniffed the air. "No, nothing. And we aren't underground here, like the Arch. If there were any monsters I would know."

Atalanta took a deep breath and was about to go down, when Annabeth stopped her. "Atalanta, wait. Eta. That's probably Hephaestus's mark. He probably had a trap ready for them here, something to humiliate them. Aphrodite and Ares found out and they hightailed it out of here so fast he forgot his shield. Problem is, I can't think of a way of retrieving the shield without going down there. And before you ask, no, we can't just leave. That would probably be worse."

Atalanta cursed. She knew this looked too easy. "Okay, so, we have to spring a trap designed for gods, only we ain't gods. Right. I'm going down there. Annabeth, Grover, you two stay here and try to find a way to help me when the shit hits the fan."

"No way." Annabeth refused. "I'm coming with you. Two heads and two sets of hands are better than one. Besides, I'm probably better equipped to deal with whatever Hephaestus has planned." she added pointing at her head.

Atalanta would have liked to argue, but knew it would be pointless so she gave up.

They reached the boat. The shield was propped on one seat, and next to it was a lady's silk scarf. I tried to imagine Ares and Aphrodite here, a couple of gods meeting in a junked-out amusement-park ride. Why? Then I noticed something I hadn't seen from up top: mirrors all the way around the rim of the pool, facing this spot. The two half-bloods could see themselves no matter which direction they looked.

Atalanta chuckled with derision. "That must be why they met here. While Ares and Aphrodite were smooching with each other they could look at their favourite people: themselves."

Annabeth chuckled slightly, approaching the boat while looking around for anything that seemed wrong.

Atalanta picked up the scarf. It shimmered pink, and the perfume was indescribable-rose, or mountain laurel. Something good. Atalanta frowned slightly. The scarf smelt and felt good, but that didn't explain her sudden desire to rub it against her cheek. She tried to put the scarf down, but some part of her refused to let it go.

Thankfully, Annabeth saw her predicament, ripped it out of her hand and stuffed it in her pocket. "Oh, no you don't. Stay away from that love magic."

Annabeth was getting more worried. Aphrodite's enchanted clothes, be they her own or her children's and favourites', contrary to popular belief, didn't appeal only to the opposite sex. They appealed to anyone that was attracted to the gender of the wearer. That was sign two. If there was a third one, she would need to talk to Chiron. At least Atalanta fought the influence off, if only partially. That was impressive, considering most people meeting Aphrodite's love magic unprepared ended up as brain-addled morons. And that included some of her brothers.

Atalanta, meanwhile, had figured out what had happened and was using some very harsh words to describe Aphrodite. Even Annabeth didn't know some of them. 'The wonders of having one of the biggest assholes this side of Ares as your adoptive father.' she thought dryly.

"Just get the shield, Seaweed Brain, and let's get out of here." she interrupted her friend's tirade.

Still, fuming, Atalanta reached for the shield. The moment she touched it, she knew they were in trouble. Her hand broke through something that had been connecting it to the dashboard.

A cobweb, she thought, but then she looked at a strand of it on my palm and saw it was some kind of metal filament, so fine it was almost invisible. A trip wire.

"Dammit. Annabeth, I think I just triggered whatever trap Hephaestus planted." shouted Atalanta.

A needless warning. Noise erupted all around them, of a million gears grinding, as if the whole pool were turning into one giant machine.

Grover yelled, "Guys!"

Up on the rim, the Cupid statues were drawing their bows into firing position. Before Atalanta could suggest taking cover, they shot, but not at the girls. They fired at each other, across the rim of the pool. Silky cables trailed from the arrows, arcing over the pool and anchoring where they landed to form a huge golden asterisk. Then smaller metallic threads started weaving together magically between the main strands, making a net.

"We have to get out, now!" Atalanta yelled.

"Duh!" Annabeth yelled back.

Atalanta grabbed the shield and they ran, but going up the slope of the pool was not as easy as going down.

"Come on!" Grover shouted.

He was trying to hold open a section of the net for them, but wherever he touched it, the golden threads started to wrap around his hands.

The Cupids' heads popped open. Out came video cameras. Spotlights rose up all around the pool, blinding us with illumination, and a loudspeaker voice boomed: "Live to Olympus in one minute... Fifty-nine seconds, fifty-eight..."

Things were going from bad to worse. They were about to be broadcast live to Olympus and look like complete fools.

They'd almost made it to the rim when the row of mirrors opened like hatches and thousands of tiny metallic ... things poured out. Annabeth screamed.

It was an army of wind-up creepy-crawlies: bronze-gear bodies, spindly legs, little pincer mouths, all scuttling toward us in a wave of clacking, whirring metal.

"Spiders!" Annabeth screamed. "Sp-sp-aaaah!"

Atalanta had never seen her like this before. She fell backward in terror and almost got overwhelmed by the spider robots before she pulled her up and dragged her back towards the boat.

The things were coming out from all around the rim now, millions of them, flooding toward the centre of the pool, completely surrounding us. Atalanta told herself they probably weren't programmed to kill, just corral them and bite them and make them look stupid.

Atalanta dragged Annabeth into the boat. She started kicking away the spiders as they swarmed aboard, yelling at Annabeth to help her, but she was too paralyzed to do much more than scream.

"Thirty, twenty-nine," called the loudspeaker.

The spiders started spitting out strands of metal thread, trying to tie them down. The strands were easy enough to break at first, but there were so many of them, and the spiders just kept coming. Atalanta kicked one away from Annabeth's leg and its pincers took a chunk out her my new surf shoe.

Grover hovered above the pool in his flying sneakers, trying to pull the net loose, but it wouldn't budge.

Think, she told herself. Think.

The Tunnel of Love entrance was under the net. They could use it as an exit, except that it was blocked by a million robot spiders.

"Fifteen, fourteen," the loudspeaker called.

'Water, where does the ride's water come from?' she thought.

Then she saw them: huge water pipes behind the mirrors, where the spiders had come from. And up above the net, next to one of the Cupids, a glass-windowed booth that must be the controller's station.

"Grover!" she yelled. "Get into that booth! Find the 'on' switch!"

"But…"

"Do it!" It was a crazy hope, but it was their only chance. The spiders were all over the prow of the boat now. Annabeth was screaming her head off. She had to get them out of there.

Grover was in the controller's booth now, slamming away at the buttons.

"Five, four…"

Grover looked up at me hopelessly, raising his hands. He was letting Atalanta know that he'd pushed every button, but still nothing was happening.

She was left with only one choice. She just hoped sche could pull it off. "Well, here goes nothing." she muttered.

She closed her eyes and thought about waves, rushing water, the Mississippi River. She felt a familiar tug in her gut. I tried to imagine that I was dragging the ocean all the way to Denver.

"Two, one, zero!"

Water exploded out of the pipes. It roared into the pool, sweeping away the spiders. She pulled Annabeth into the seat next to her and fastened her seat belt just as the tidal wave slammed into the boat, over the top, whisking the spiders away and dousing them completely, but not capsizing the boat.

Atalanta felt invigorated, the water energizing her far better than the measly half eaten cheeseburger she had at the Diner.

The boat turned, lifted in the flood, and spun in circles around the whirlpool. The water was full of short-circuiting spiders, some of them smashing against the pool's concrete wall with such force they burst.

Spotlights glared down at them. The Cupid-cams were rolling, live to Olympus. Atalanta ignored the chaos around her, concentrating instead on controlling the boat. She willed it to ride the current, to keep away from the wall. Perhaps she shouldn't be, but she was actually surprised when the boat responded.

They spun around one last time, the water level now almost high enough to shred them against the metal net.

Then the boat's nose turned toward the tunnel and they rocketed through into the darkness.

The girls held tight, both of them screaming, one with terror and the other with both fear and exhilaration, as the boat shot curls and hugged corners and took forty-five-degree plunges past pictures of Romeo and Juliet and a bunch of other Valentine's Day stuff.

Then they were out of the tunnel, the night air whistling through our hair as the boat barrelled straight toward the exit.

If the ride had been in working order, they would've sailed off a ramp between the golden Gates of Love and splashed down safely in the exit pool. But, of course, there was a problem.

The Gates of Love were chained. Two boats that had been washed out of the tunnel before them were now piled against the barricade-one submerged, the other cracked in half.

"Unfasten your seat belt!" she yelled to Annabeth.

"Are you crazy?" she yelled back.

"Probably! But unless you want to get smashed to death, you should listen to me!"

She strapped Ares's shield to her arm. They didn't go through all this trouble to lose it now. "We're going to have to jump for it." Atalanta's idea was as simple as it was insane. As the boat struck, they would use its force like a springboard to jump the gate. She'd heard of people surviving car crashes that way, getting thrown thirty or forty feet away from an accident. With any luck, they would land in the pool. She made conscious effort to avoid thinking the fact that lately their luck had been less than stellar.

Annabeth seemed to understand, which was kinda impressive, considering her panicked state. She gripped Atalanta's hand as the gates got closer.

"On my mark." Said Atalanta.

"No! On my mark!" shouted Annabeth. If Atalanta didn't know better, she would swear she sounded more scared than before.

"What?"

"Simple physics!" Annabeth yelled again. "Force times the trajectory angle-"

"Fine." Atalanta interrupted her, trusting Annabeth to make the better call. "On your mark!"

She hesitated ... hesitated ... then yelled. "Now!" Atalanta prayed to her father and jumped.

Crack!

Annabeth was, of course, right. If they'd jumped when Atalanta thought they should've, they would've crashed into the gates. Annabeth, on the other hand, got them the maximum possible lift.

Unfortunately, that was a little more than they needed. The boat smashed into the pileup and they were thrown into the air, straight over the gates, over the pool, and down toward solid asphalt.

Something grabbed Atalanta from behind. She heard Annabeth yell, "Ouch!" and looked behind her.

It was good old Grover. In midair, he had grabbed Atalanta by the shirt and Annabeth by the arm, and was trying to pull them out of a crash landing, but the girls were both heavier and had all the momentum.

"You're too heavy!" Grover said. "We're going down!"

They spiralled towards the ground, Grover doing his very best to slow the fall. He somewhat succeeded too.

They smashed into a photo-board, Grover's head going straight into the hole where tourists would put their faces, pretending to be Noo-Noo the Friendly Whale. The two demigods tumbled to the ground, banged up but alive. Luckily, Ares's shield was still on Atalanta's arm.

Once they caught their breath, the girls got Grover out of the photo-board and thanked him for saving their lives. Atalanta looked back at the Thrill Ride of Love. The water was subsiding. The boat had been smashed to pieces against the gates.

A hundred yards away, at the entrance pool, the Cupids were still filming. The statues had swivelled so that their cameras were trained straight on the children, the spotlights in their faces.

She had to hand it to Hephaestus. If the trap had caught its intended target, it would have made for one hell of a funny show.

"Show's over!" she yelled. "Thank you! Good night!" She added a small bow at the end for effect.

The Cupids turned back to their original positions. The lights shut off. The park went quiet and dark again, except for the gentle trickle of water into the Thrill Ride of Love's exit pool. She wondered if Olympus had gone to a commercial break, or if their ratings had been any good. She also wondered if she could ask for royalties. But there were more important things to deal with right now.

Atalanta hated being teased. She hated being tricked. And she had plenty of experience handling bullies who tried to pull that stuff on her.

She hefted the shield on her arm and turned to her friends. "Why don't we go have a little talk with our friend Ares, hmm?" The look on her face was more than enough to slightly scare Annabeth and Grover.


End file.
